STUDENT LOANS REGARDING SCHOOLS OF NURSING.

SEC. 133. STUDENT LOANS REGARDING SCHOOLS OF NURSING. (a) In General.— Section 836(b) of the Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 297b(b)) is amended— (1) in paragraph (1), by striking the period at the end and inserting a semicolon; (2) in paragraph (2)— (A) in subparagraph (A), by striking “and” at the end; and (B) by inserting before the semicolon at the end the following: “, and (C) such additional periods under the terms of paragraph (8) of this subsection”; (3) in paragraph (7), by striking the period at the end and inserting “; and”; and (4) by adding at the end the following paragraph: “(8) pursuant to uniform criteria established by the Secretary, the repayment period established under paragraph (2) for any student borrower who during the repayment period failed to make consecutive payments and who, during the last 12 months of the repayment period, has made at least 12 consecutive payments may be extended for a period not to exceed 10 years.”. (b) Minimum Monthly Payments.— Section 836(g) of the Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 297b(g)) is amended by striking “$15” and inserting “$40”. (c) Elimination of Statute of Limitation for Loan Collections.— (1) In general.— Section 836 of the Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 297b) is amended by adding at the end the following new subsection: “(l) Elimination of Statute of Limitation for Loan Collections.— “(1) Purpose.— It is the purpose of this subsection to ensure that obligations to repay loans under this section are enforced without regard to any Federal or State statutory, regulatory, or administrative limitation on the period within which debts may be enforced. 112 STAT. 3576 “(2) Prohibition.— Notwithstanding any other provision of Federal or State law, no limitation shall terminate the period within which suit may be filed, a judgment may be enforced, or an offset, garnishment, or other action may be initiated or taken by a school of nursing that has an agreement with the Secretary pursuant to section 835 that is seeking the repayment of the amount due from a borrower on a loan made under this subpart after the default of the borrower on such loan.”. “(2) Effective date.— The amendment made by paragraph (1) shall be effective with respect to actions pending on or after the date of enactment of this Act. (d) Breach of Agreements.— Section 846 of the Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 297n) is amended by adding at the end thereof the following new subsection: “(h) Breach of Agreement.— “(1) In general.— In the case of any program under this section under which an individual makes an agreement to provide health services for a period of time in accordance with such program in consideration of receiving an award of Federal funds regarding education as a nurse (including an award for the repayment of loans), the following applies if the agreement provides that this subsection is applicable: (A) In the case of a program under this section that makes an award of Federal funds for attending an accredited program of nursing (in this section referred to as a ‘nursing program’), the individual is liable to the Federal Government for the amount of such award (including amounts provided for expenses related to such attendance), and for interest on such amount at the maximum legal prevailing rate, if the individual— “(i) fails to maintain an acceptable level of academic standing in the nursing program (as indicated by the program in accordance with requirements established by the Secretary); “(ii) is dismissed from the nursing program for disciplinary reasons; or “(iii) voluntarily terminates the nursing program. (B) The individual is liable to the Federal Government for the amount of such award (including amounts provided for expenses related to such attendance), and for interest on such amount at the maximum legal prevailing rate, if the individual fails to provide health services in accordance with the program under this section for the period of time applicable under the program. “(2) Waiver or suspension of liability.— In the case of an individual or health facility making an agreement for purposes of paragraph (1), the Secretary shall provide for the waiver or suspension of liability under such subsection if compliance by the individual or the health facility, as the case may be, with the agreements involved is impossible, or would involve extreme hardship to the individual or facility, and if enforcement of the agreements with respect to the individual or facility would be unconscionable. “(3) Date certain for recovery.— Subject to paragraph (2), any amount that the Federal Government is entitled to recover under paragraph (1) shall be paid to the United States 112 STAT. 3577not later than the expiration of the 3-year period beginning on the date the United States becomes so entitled. “(4) Availability.— Amounts recovered under paragraph (1) with respect to a program under this section shall be available for the purposes of such program, and shall remain available for such purposes until expended.”. (e) Technical Amendments.— Section 839 of the Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 297e) is amended— (1) in subsection (a)— (A) by striking the matter preceding paragraph (1) and inserting the following: “(a) If a school terminates a loan fund established under an agreement pursuant to section 835(b), or if the Secretary for good cause terminates the agreement with the school, there shall be a capital distribution as follows:”; and (B) in paragraph (1), by striking “at the close of September 30, 1999,” and inserting “on the date of termination of the fund”; and (2) in subsection (b), to read as follows: “(b) If a capital distribution is made under subsection (a), the school involved shall, after such capital distribution, pay to the Secretary, not less often than quarterly, the same proportionate share of amounts received by the school in payment of principal or interest on loans made from the loan fund established under section 835(b) as determined by the Secretary under subsection (a).”.